Full-time: Spain, well, Spained Uruguay into submission in the second half. They did not appear to miss Xavi or Xabi Alonso at all. Cazorla was very impressive while Iniesta was irrepressible . As hard as Uruguay tried to catch Spain out on the counterattack they simply didn't see enough of the ball to test Spain's defence on enough occasions. Isco looked impressive on his Spain debut too – the fact that he replaced Iniesta and Spain's level did not dip, tells us a great deal about his quality. But Cesc Fábregas's pass for Pedro's second and Spain's third goal was the standout moment for me. A delicious little pass.

Ah, and here's an answer for what Puyol received at half-time for his 100th cap. "The animal is the Oryx and is the 'national animal' of Qatar," writes Alister Elder. Apologies for my ignorance. I'm sure Puyol will cherish his little Oryx for many years to come. Thanks for your emails. Goodnight.

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90+ 3 min: The corner is cleared and the whistle is blown to put an end to a very entertaining friendly.

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90+2 min: Isco is good. Very good. He shows incredible skill and balance on the left-hand side of the 18-yard box to send two Uruguay defenders the wrong way with a turbo-charged Cruyff turn before squaring intelligently into the six-yard box where a collection of legs diverts the ball away for corner.

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90 min: Villa dances his way into the Uruguay box and stings the embarrassed palms of Muslera with a powerful right-footed strike. The goalkeeeper concedes a corner, which comes to nothing. To be fair to Muslera, that shocking error aside in the first half, he's done all right.

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88 min: Suárez almost picks out Forlán at the backpost but Chelsea's Azpicueta, who has had a very tidy game tonight, jumps in front of him and uses his chest to calmly bring the ball down before clearing the danger.

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85 min: Suárez is sent clean through but is adjudged to be offside. He isn't. Poor old Luis. If Uruguay score my prediction will have been spot on. I have no money riding on it because unlike Ray Winstone, I don't believe that "it matters more when there's money on it". I just like being right.

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81 min: More Puyol love: "It's pretty hard to beat Sid Lowe's touching description of Carles Puyol - that he plays with his heart on his sleeve and his hair in his eyes. Try to imagine Carragher with that hair, brilliant, " writes Mark Jelbert. "By the way, given the love you showed for Qatar early on, you must be particularly loving the ExxonMobil ads all over the shop?" Don't get me started Mark. Spain, are turning the screw here. They have worn Uruguay out in the last five minutes with about 300 passes. It takes a clear push in the back from Gargano on Villa to win back possession. No foul given, either.

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80 min: There have been a few more substitutions but in trying to come up with that shoddy analogy below I missed them. Although I did see that Pedro was one of the Spain players who went off and Monreal, Arsenal's new left back, is on too.

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78 min: I've just watched that Spain goal again. The pass from Fábregas drew Muslera out of his goal like kids bouncing a ball on a front window would draw a short-fused fella out of his house.

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Olé!

Goal! Spain 3-1 Uruguay (Pedro 74) This is all about the pass from Fábregas. David Villa picked the ball up on the left and sprints towards the 18-yard box, Fábregas overlaps on the left and Villa shifts the ball on to him. The Barça midfielder switches the ball back on to his right foot and curls a delicious ball between the defence and Muslera that couldn't have been any more perfect, for Pedro to finish first time with his right foot from six yards. Wonderful.

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72 min: Suárez (Luis that is) must be one of the most difficult players to play against in world football at the moment. He doesn't give you a minute. It's just taken Alba and Piqué 30 seconds of lung-busting wrestling to dispossess him.

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69 min: A few substitutions: Rios for Perez in Uruguay's midfield. Forlán for Cavani in Uruguay's attack. And Mario Suárez, who replaced Alonso in the squad, for Cazorla in Spain's midfield.

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67 min: The game has become a little bit more stretched, with Uruguay still looking dangerous on the break and Spain's midfield looking to play more direct passes through to Pedro and Suárez from a little deeper than they have done thus far.

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64 min: Suárez gives his bionic hips a chance to swivel by finding a bit of space on the left wing. He checks back and then spins at double-quick speed aiming for the touchline but cuts it back into the box before he runs out of space. He's fantastic in tight areas. For all his good work, his intended targets have all galloped on past where he put the ball, though.

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60 min: David Villa is a foot away from putting Spain 3-1 up after taking advantage of a slip from a Uruguay defender and pouncing onto the loose ball. He is closed down as he enters the box, before shifting the ball onto his right foot and trying to curl the ball around his defender and into the top right corner, but his radar is just out.

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59 min: Isco has come on for Iniesta. No pressure son.

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57 min: Cavani forces Valdes into a fingertip save after breaking free down the inside-right channel. Meanwhile, there's another tasty challange in midfield that bubbles up into a bit of group pushing and shoving. This is almost feisty. Almost.

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55 min: Alba is booked after taking umbrage at another robust challenge from a Uruguay player. It was Perez, on this occasion. He was booked for the challenge but it doesn't stop Ramos having his tuppence worth and seeing yellow for the trouble.

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53 min: Spain sprung into life given half a sniff of a chance there. That makes a mockery of my thoughts of them being a bit toothless in the first half. That was razor sharp play.

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Pedro puts Spain 2-1 up!

Goal! Spain 2-1 Uruguay (Pedro 51) Godin ambles out of defence and takes the kind of heavy touch that Jason Lee made his own. The ball is stolen away by Busquets, who shifts it on to Pique, who then plays a delightfully weighted ball through to Pedro in the inside-right channel, he takes one touch inside the box and finishes clinically with his right foot across Muslera and into the corner. Uruguay were punished ruthlessy there.

45 min: Peep! It was Juan Mata who was replaced by Villa. That should give Spain a focal point in attack, at last. They badly lacked that in the first half. But hey, they're Spain, they can do what they want.

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Carlos Puyol has just been presented with a trophy by some Qatari dignitaries to commemorate his 100th cap. It appears to be a solid metal deer/bull. Well, it looks like a fictional being anyway. He'll get plenty of time to study the trophy and figure out what it is on the bench as he has been replaced by his Barça team-mate Gerard Piqué. David Villa is on as well, although I didn't see who went off as I was too busy looking at the weird gong being handed to Puyol.

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@greggbakowski Looks like Uruguay would have been better with Suarez in goal...

I don't think my Jamie Carragher comparison is unfair at all, having seen that. Carragher admitted that he would not go out with a wallet when he was out with his mates in case they thought he was being a bit too flash.

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Half-time:Peep! That was an entertaining half. Spain's possession play has been effective only to a point; namely the Uruguay 18-yard box. Meanwhile, the South American champions have been very effective on the counterattack if not a little wasteful in possession. Your emails/tweets (if there are any) to follow.

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45 min: Fábregas shapes to shoot but it is Ramos who tries to 'Ronaldo' it over the wall … but it slams into an unlucky Uruguay defender's forehead and bounces away to safety.

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42 min: Suárez has just tried to score from within the Uruguay half. It was nowhere near and gave possession away needlessly. But the fact that he had a go made the crowd scream … in a very polite way of course. Spain are pop-pop-popping the ball around again confidently. Iniesta is head and shoulders above his team-mates in terms of making things tick. His brain could find space in solid cube. Meanwhile, Lugano has clattered Fábregas and Pedro and been lucky not to have received a yellow card, the sly old dog. Free-kick to Spain 20 yards from goal just left of centre …

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39 min: "If your comparison of Puyol to Carragher has anything to do with their relative aptitude at playing football, then I think you're being unfair to the Catalan defender. Puyol has never had to rely on the mercy and kindness of refs who nostalgically accept shirt tugs, trips, and shoulder barges as relics to be cherished from a bygone era. It's not that Puyol hasn't committed such acts, it's just that Carra seemingly has to do them. Also, in the leadership department, if Carragher were really like Puyol, then we would not have had to put up with Terry for so long. Puyol is the only leader who can out-JT JT. Recall the tunnel footage prior to a Barca-Chelsea match where Puyol wins a staredown between the two," writes Daniel Finucane. I think comparing anyone to JT is unfair Daniel, hence why I opted for Carra. Also, I've never seen Puyol dress up in his full kit and take credit for a Barcelona victory he took no part in.

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37 min: Mata tests the questionable palms of Muslera for the first time since Spain's goal, but on this occasion they stand up to the strike, which was hit crisply from 20 yards.

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34 min: Uruguay almost make it 2-1 moments later. But Cavani is tackled expertly Azpicueta, who nicks the ball away from him with his left foot before setting Spain away again. Uruguay look dangerous on the break. Suárez isn't seeing much of the ball, but he is allowing Cavani and Cristian Rodriguez the chance to find space, much in the way he has done for Sturridge at Liverpool in recent games.

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Uruguay equalise!

Goal! Spain 1-1 Uruguay (Cristian Rodriguez 31) This is a wonderfully taken goal. The Atletico Madrid winger receives a zipped-in pass from Lodeiro on the edge of the 18-yard box where he has Puyol breathing down his neck. He dampens the ball brilliantly with his left foot and accelerates away from the Spain centre-back into the box before finishing into the bottom-right corner confidently with his right foot.

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27 min: Puyol is half a yard away from scoring on his 100th appearance for Spain. Fábregas whipped in a delicious cross that the big man, all hair and arms and legs as he throws himself at the ball, diverts into the goal with his left foot only to be flagged offside. Boo!

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25 min: "Although I'm sure they (we?) wouldn't admit it, I'm fairly sure you also have a 'very polite-looking, posh' readership, with maybe not 'swish', but probably 'comfortable' surroundings. Not that the ugly spectre of 'class', and 'middle', would ever rear its head on a Guardian blog, of course,' writes Captain Corduroy, ensuring 'class' and 'middle' rears its ugly head in this Guardian blog for a second time in one half of football.

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22 min: Busquets (who else?) receives the first booking of the game. He's very unfortunate, to be fair, winning the ball, from the side by my reckoning, but the referee adjudges it to be a tackle from behind on Perez, I think. The Uruguay free-kick comes to nought.

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19 min: Spain win a corner, which Uruguay do a very good impression of Aston Villa's backline in trying to defend. The result is that Mata hooks the ball back over his shoulder and Puyol, unmarked and only eight yards from goal, somehow manages to head the ball away from goal as if trying to show the Uruguay defence how they should do it.

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18 min: Cavani goes close after racing on to a hopeful ball over the top of the Spain defence but, under pressure, he stabs the ball straight at Valdes, who rushes out well to narrow the angle on the edge of the box.

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Goal! Spain 1-0 Uruguay (Fábregas 15) Muslera, in the Uruguay goal, has had an absolute shocker. Fábregas picks the ball up off Mata with nobody near him 35 yards from goal. With no pressure on the ball he has a speculative punt, the ball swerving a bit from left to right, only for Muslera to let it slap his palms and bounce pitifully into the net behind him. For shame Muslera, for shame.

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11 min: Uruguay have been wasteful in possession thus far, Pereira particularly, hoiking balls up from the left full-back area straight out of play down the left wing. Spain increase the tempo, working their way through the Uruguay midfield with pretty triangles, only to find that there is no outlet at the end of it. Fábregas playing as an auxiliary midfielder in the buildup rather than as a striker. I shan't call him a false nine, I'm not football hip enough.

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9 min: The unlikely figure of Busquets has the first shot of the match, from just outside the 18-yard box, pouncing on a loose ball and striking low towards the bottom left-hand corner, which Muslera does well to get his body behind.

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7 min: The match has dropped in tempo since the opening exchanges. Much of that is down to the fact that Uruguay have taken control and are more than happy to keep possession just in front of their own 18-yard box. It is so very quiet in Qatar. Are you listening Fifa?

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5 min: "So it looks to me like there are more players from Chelsea (2) than from Madrid (1) in Spain's XI (11). Barca has seven (7). What do you think the madridistas think of this?" asks Asher Klein. I'd say they would be a little miffed. Only a little bit, mind.

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3 min: Iniesta has a few silky touches to set the tone for Spain, who look controlled from the start. But it is Uruguay who have the first real chance of the match, with Suárez, predictably involved, bustling his way through Spain's backline after some good link-up play with Cavani, only for Puyol to make a very well-timed last-ditch tackle as the striker cut into the box on the inside-right channel.

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1 min: A ripple of applause that wouldn't be out of place at a primary school egg and spoon race greets the whistle. Yup, Qatar is a real hot bed of sport.

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I now have pictures of a very polite-looking, posh crowd in a swish -looking ground.

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Bad news for Spain fans: Coates is not playing at centre-back so Fábregas et al will not be afforded the chance to do what Oldham did to him and tear him a new one.

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Right, I'm back with some team news. Although, it's only the starting XIs. I imagine both of these will be 4-3-3s, although Rodriguez's selection for Uruguay suggests it could be a 4-4-2. Tactics!

So no start for Isco, which is a little disappointing, but Arsenal's Santi Cazorla gets the chance to try to feed through passes to the the fella who used to do his job at Arsenal, Mr Fábregas.

While for Uruguay Diego Forlán loses out to Rodriguez, perhaps because the Atlético Madrid winger is better than him.

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Preamble

Evening. This was supposed to have been played in Portugal until Qatar stumped up €4m to take it to Doha. That’s Qatar that doesn’t have a minimum wage but is happy to wear a glamour-friendly like a big shiny medallion round its neck and expect the world to coo in appreciation. Let’s hope the players don’t have their passports taken off them. Click here and here for further reading.

Anyway, serious stuff aside, in pure footballing terms this has the potential to be a corker. It's the South American champions versus the European and world champions. The counterattacking prowess of Uruguay's Cavani, Suárez and Forlán versus Spain's ball-hogging brilliance.

And while the Spain coach, Vicente Del Bosque, will have to replace Xabi Alonso and Xavi, who are both injured, I don't expect to see him experiment tactically. He's won everything with his current system and Spain haven't lost a match since they were mugged in west London in November 2011. So why would he? Like a cuddly old mechanic, he'll just replace a couple of parts in his reliable engine, turn on the ignition, grumble to himself at the mild inconvenience, and sit back for the ride. It will be interesting to see how Málaga's brilliant little playmaker, Isco, fares if he plays. He has been outstanding in La Liga this season and, at just 20 years of age, surely stands a good chance of being Spain's chief string-puller when the current generation shuffle off into retirement. Oh, and the Spanish Jamie Carragher, Carlos Puyol, will win his 100th cap tonight too.

As for Uruguay, as much as I'd like them to, they probably won't start with Suárez in goal. Oscar Tabarez likes to experiment with maverick tactical changes and formations (he's used the full Jonathan Wilson/Michael Cox back catalogue in the last year alone) but, alas, the pesky menace will likely be up front with Cavani and Forlán in a 4-3-3 as he looks to find a little consistency. They've lost three of their last four World Cup qualifiers and risk missing out on the party in Rio in 2014.

If this friendly is played with any kind of gusto – and the fact that Suárez will be on the pitch suggests it probably will be – it should at least match BBC2's Eggheads for 6pm Wednesday evening entertainment.